Chapter 311

Marvin “Dad, why are we here?” Karina yawned. That’s what I would like to know, and why was Tiago not in his room? My eyes met Victor’s, who had an uncomfortable look on his face. That was unlike him.

“Uh…Lucas-” My dad began.

“I’m your brother.” Lucas cut him off. The room went silent as no one dared to say a word.

“Brother?” I held back my laughter. Usually, one was supposed to feel something, but I was way too tired for that. I could not feel any anger, rage, confusion-nothing.

Tiago, on the other hand, looked from Lucas to my dad and stormed out of the office, looking furious.

“Why not? Another brother.” Karina forced a smile.

Surprisingly enough, my dad got up from his chair. “Santiago, get back here!”

“Leave him.” I shrugged, looking at Lucas. Someone as sensitive as Santiago had every right to be angry. He was right for not wanting to listen to this nonsense any longer.

“Marvin, this guy was in charge of interviewing the Castillo’s. He’s a cop!” Victor voiced his opinion.

Thanks for stating the obvious. I hadn’t figured that out yet.

“Detective nowadays….actually.” Lucas corrected him. It was not that difficult to read Lucas’

personality, and that was the very reason why I could not give two shits about his presence. Just by one look, I could tell that this guy was not a threat to me.

I had a new brother, and I couldn’t care less.

“Who the fuck cares?” Victor stressed, noticing Lucas wasn’t intimidated by him. I ignored Victor’s rage and focused on my dad.

“Okay?” I began. “So you cheated on mom?”

That was the thing that mattered the most.

“I need him to take a DNA test, of course, just to make sure-but the timeline—”

“So you cheated on mom?” I repeated, not giving him a chance to talk himself out of this. I couldn’t say I was surprised as I had expected nothing less from someone like him. “Marvin it’s complicated-”

“Anyway.” I raised my hand to stop him. “Karina, Cisco is in his room.”

Whatever was going on between him and his new son was between the two of them. I was going to keep myself out of this one. I was going to take Elena and move into my place as planned.

Karina scoffed. “Forget about Cisco. He’s not my priority right now.” She raised her head at Lucas.

When was he ever? Cisco has never been a priority to his mother.

“Does this mean you’re going to cut our inheritance?” Karina cut to the chase. That was all she cared about, her cut of the money. “No, Karina-of course not.” My dad smiled, relieved. I bet he expected a worse reaction.

“You see, Marvin.” Karina giggled, making her way over to Lucas. “No need to worry!”

She pulled Lucas into a hug. “Welcome to the family. Do you like to drink?”

+5 Bonus “Uh…” Lucas stammered uncomfortably. I wish I could tell him to run because being part of the Castillo’s was not a blessing.If anything, it was a curse.

“I can’t say I’m surprised.” I looked at my dad. For the first time in my life, he actually looked embarrassed, and rightfully so. “Son…”

“No, don’t son me.” I pointed. “This is nothing more than Mario Castillo pulling a typical Mario Castillo. God knows how many siblings we’ve got walking this earth.”

“I never meant to upset you.”

“Oh, I’m not upset.” I shrugged, looking at Victor. “I think Victor might be because this means he has more people to get rid of.”

“Excuse me?” Victor glared at me. That was right, he heard me.

“No, excuse me.” I turned around and brushed past my new brother. “I’ve got better things to do.”

“Marvin-”

I shut the door behind me, refusing to let my dad finish his sentence. I only got one thing out of this conversation, which was the confirmation that he was trash. I had no other words for cheaters, and he cheated on my mom.

I rushed to the living room to search for my mom and could already hear her sobs from afar. This was all his fault.

The maids, who were as nosy as always, were all whispering amongst themselves. No one took the time to comfort her. “Everyone out!” I shouted as they all turned their heads to stare at me. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Out!”

All of the maids ran out while I walked over to my mom and knelt in front of her. “He doesn’t deserve you,” I spoke, wiping her tears.

“What’s going on?” Panther walked in. “Why are all the maids running?”

“The owner of that jeep outside?” I took a breath. “Apparently, it’s the newest addition to the family…my brother.”

“Oh, shit.”

The very second I called Lucas my brother, my mom’s sobs grew louder, “Mom, he’s not my brother…I just…I’m sorry.” I continued wiping her tears.

“Panther, can you give us a minute?”

Panther, who was still in the midst of processing the news, walked away.

“Mom, don’t worry,” I smiled. “He’ll still have to do a DNA test and-”

“No, Marvin-he’s your brother.” My mom sniffled.

“What?”

“I already knew Marvin.”

“Are you sure?” I whispered, confused Apparently, there was a whole lot more to this story.

“Positive.” She spoke. “I did something really bad.”

“Mom…”

“I did it for you and Tiago. I did it all for you!”

I got up from the floor and paced back and forth, already preparing myself for the worst.God, please, don’t tell me this woman killed someone. “What have you done? Tell me.”

“Lucas’ mom, she used to be a maid in this house.” My mom began. “Your father was having an affair.”

“Yes, I know-you don’t have to remind me,” I spoke, irritated.

“At first, I didn’t care, but after finding out she was pregnant, I kicked her out of the house and told your dad she left.”

Everything else became a blur as I could only focus on one particular word. “You kicked out a pregnant woman?”

Not even Mario Castillo would do that.

My mom turned away from my eyes. “I sent her a letter, telling her to leave the house….I wrote your dad’s name on the envelope.”

“A pregnant woman, really?”

“I didn’t have a choice. Your father was too busy with that woman, and I was pregnant with Karina.”

My mom defended her actions. I loved her to death, but even I knew that this could not be excused.

“Is there anything else I should know?”

My mom cleared her throat. “That woman sent your father letters for years, but I kept them from him.” She admitted. “I thought she had just stopped sending them at one point but she passed away.”“

“Did you have anything to do with her death?”

“No, I swear.” She answered.

“Does dad know you kicked her out?”

“No.”

“Do you think….that woman knew the letters came from you?” I asked.

“No.”

“Is there any way someone might get ahold of those letters?”

“No, I let my well-trusted maid burn them.” My mom shook her head. That was the one guarding Tiago’s door. She was a harsh one but was loyal.So far, so great.

We had way too much to worry about, for example, Tiago, who had not returned to normal, and I couldn’t add anything else on my plate.

“Then none of this ever happened, understand?” I looked into my mom’s eyes, forcing her to go along with it.

“I understand.” She agreed. “He’s here for revenge..there’s no other way.” She whispered, worried. I placed my hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

“Maybe you’re overreacting. Maybe he just wants a bond with his family.”

My mom grabbed my hand and looked at me with big eyes. “I don’t think he’s here to be your brother, Marvin.” She stated. “Take it from me. The people you have to watch out for are usually the ones closest to you.”

Nice, so after Karina and Tiago, my mom, who was one of the few sane people around here, was also losing it.

Yes, that was it. Elena and I were getting the hell out of here.